Jean-Jacques Vasseur received his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Montpellier, working on RNA synthesis in solution and on the reactivity of DNA apurinic sites under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Louis Imbach and Dr Bernard Rayner. During his PhD, he was recruited by the CNRS as a research fellow. From 1990 to 1992, he was a visiting scientist at Ionis (formerly Isis) Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, USA where he developed backbone-modified oligonucleotide analogues without internucleoside phosphates. In 1992, he returned to Montpellier and worked on cationic oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide prodrugs in the laboratory of Prof. Imbach and later in the laboratory of Dr Gilles Gosselin. He was promoted to Research Director at the CNRS in 1998. In 2003, he created the “modified oligonucleotides” team which he led for almost 20 years. He is currently vice-director of the Max Mousseron Institute of Biomolecules in Montpellier and president of the International Society of Nucleosides, Nucleotides, and Nucleic Acids (IS3NA). From 2012 to 2022, he has been director of the Doctoral School of Chemistry at the University of Montpellier. His research interests include various aspects of nucleic acid chemistry focusing on the design of natural and chemically modified DNAs and RNAs and their conjugates for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. He is the author of over 250 publications and co-inventor of 10 patents.